For this chapter, there will be some OC/Gary interactions.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 4: Illusion Confusion

It appeared everything was going well after Ash caught Heracross, but right now, we were in bit of a pickle. We were stuck in the middle of a forest after taking what we thought was a shortcut to Cherrygrove City after checking the map on our PokéGears.

"Just admit it, guys… We're lost, aren't we?" Misty asked while Ash, Brock and I checked our surroundings.

"Togipri prii!" Togepi chirped happily in Misty's arms, not bothered by the current situation.

"No, we're not, Misty", Ash replied. "We're on the right way, but…"

"We simply got sidetracked from the shortcut we found", Brock added.

"Piiiika…", Pikachu whined in defeat.

I checked the close-up map on my PokéGear once again and bit my bottom lip as I decided to face the truth. "We are lost", I spoke up. "We got off the road a while ago and are far away from the tracks."

"At least Ashley admits the truth unlike the boys", Misty muttered.

"If so, we need to find that path quickly", Brock said as he looked up at the orange sky. "The sun's going down soon."

"We can just always camp like always", Misty said.

"Priii."

"But there's something about this forest that gives me the chills…", Brock said before he started cold sweating.

I suddenly felt a cold chill too and felt the hair in my neck raise up. I looked around to see if there was any Pokémon nearby, but no. It was also eerie quiet with no sounds from the wild Pokémon. Besides, that chill I felt greatly resembled the few times Ash's Gengar used to sneak up on me back at Professor Oak's lab…

"Guys…", I spoke up just as Ash got an idea.

"Then we just have to walk back in the same direction to find the path!" my brother said before he ran off in the direction we came from. "C'mon, guys!"

"Ash, wait up!" Misty shouted before the rest of us ran after him.

"This might get worse…", I sighed before I grabbed Pikachu and carried him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Just like I thought, we didn't find the shortcut and instead got actually lost in the forest. The big moon was high up in the night sky and some quiet noises were heard from the woods that came from the wild nature. It was quite late that the wild Pokémon had retired to their homes to sleep through the night.

"Great job, Ash! Now we're totally lost!" Misty yelled at my brother.

"I'm sorry…", Ash apologized sheepishly. "I thought we would find the path if we walked back the same direction…"

I checked the map again and could confirm we were actually farther away from the shortcut. "That's odd…", I mumbled as Pikachu sat on my shoulders.

"What's odd, Ashley?" Ash asked.

"We were heading in the same direction back to the path, but somehow we still managed to get farther away after I put away my PokéGear", I explained. "I know for a fact we walked straight forward and we would find the path."

"Pikaa?"

"So now you're saying the forest moved around and changed the landscape by itself?" Misty asked.

"That can only be possible if there was a Trevenant messing with us, but that Pokémon doesn't live in Johto", I replied as I put away the PokéGear.

"Treve-what?" Misty repeated.

"A Pokémon that lives in the Kalos region", I explained as I felt a chill run down my spine by the thought of the spoken Pokémon. "It's a grass a-and…g-ghost type…"

"Ghost?" Brock repeated before he snapped his fingers. "Perhaps it is a ghost Pokémon that's behind of this!"

"No wonder I've been feeling cold chills for a while…", I shivered as I rubbed my arms in hopes of getting warm.

All of the sudden, the sky got covered by dark clouds and blocked the light from the moon. The wind picked up the speed and caused the leaves of the trees to ruffle violently. Not only that, but a deep groan started echoing around us.

"Quit making those noises, Brock! It's not funny!" Misty shrieked at me.

"It wasn't me, Misty!" Brock defended himself.

"Shhh! Quiet, guys…!" Ash hushed them as he stood close to me and let Pikachu climb over to his shoulders.

The groan or laughter repeated itself before a tree right in front of us had a frightening face. All of us screamed at the same time and ran away from the tree that appeared to be moving. Instead we got blocked by another tree with a fearsome face. My heart was pounding in my chest as fear overwhelmed my senses. Just in the middle of the chaos did I remember something from Professor Oak's books. There was one move that could help us against this mysterious ghost Pokémon that was messing with us and Trica knew that move!

I grabbed her Poké Ball and threw it. "Trica, use Foresight on the trees!" I screamed as I held onto my brother's arm.

"Sentreet!" Trica shrieked before her body and eyes started glowing in white while collecting energy. "SeeeeentREEET!" She released a shockwave that spread across the small area. It struck every tree that got affected by the mysterious ghost Pokémon's power and undid the illusions. The trees returned to normal and the noise was also gone, so we collapsed on the ground sighing in relief.

"That worked…", I breathed deeply as my body still shook by the shock. "T-Thank you, Trica…"

"Sentret eet", Trica said as she crawled into my arms to comfort me.

"Those trees…were just illusions", Brock commented in relief.

"Thank goodness the nightmare's over…", Misty panted coarsely.

"Priii…", Togepi whimpered in fear.

"What exactly happened just now?" Ash asked as he cradled Pikachu.

"Piiika…", Pikachu held onto my brother's jacket and buried his face in it.

"You guys saw an illusion created by a ghost-type Pokémon", a familiar voice spoke up.

We looked up and saw my and Ash's first rival. "Gary!" the two of us exclaimed in surprise. I noticed a Hoothoot stood next to him. It must be a new Pokémon he recently caught.

"It was a good move using Foresight to undo the illusion, Ashley", Gary said as he walked over to us and held a hand out to me. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah…", I nodded slowly before I took Gary's hand to get pulled up from the ground.

The rest of the group stood up on their own while I let go of Gary's hand to hug Trica for more comfort. I quickly recalled what Gary's big sister, Daisy, told me before I left Pallet Town not long ago. She wanted me to give Gary a chance to redeem himself. I remembered asking Brock what she meant about that. He explained to me that Gary might actually want to make up for all the bad stuff he did to me before as a kid and see him in a new way.

I was still worried if Gary was going to bully me and Ash again, but he had been so nice back home during my and Ash's birthday. Maybe… Gary has changed?

"What's that Pokémon?" Ash asked as he finally saw Hoothoot. Instead of waiting for an answer from Gary, he picked up his Pokédex to check the data.

Hoothoot, the owl Pokémon. Normal and flying-type. It always stands on one foot and changes feet so fast the movement can rarely be seen. It has a perfect sense of time. Whatever happens, it keeps rhythm by precisely tilting its head in time.

"Didn't you guys know you need to have a Pokémon that knows Foresight in order to get through this forest?" Gary asked, his tone almost sounding the same as when he used to lecture us about what fools we were.

"What do you mean? What's wrong with this forest?" Ash asked.

"They're saying some ghost-type Pokémon live here and they love having fun with travelers by intentionally making them get lost in this forest", Gary explained. "Some people have never been seen again after entering the forest."

"Are you serious?!" Misty gasped in surprise.

"H-How evil can those g-ghost Pokémon be…?" I shook as I started feeling ready to pass out.

Ash wrapped an arm around my shoulders before I could actually faint. "I don't think Pokémon can be that evil", he said. "I guess there's a reason of their behavior and why they're messing with people."

"So you made it through the forest so far with the help of your Hoothoot?" Brock asked Gary.

"Yeah. I was busy training and catching Pokémon when I heard about the forest and decided to find and catch a Hoothoot so I can get through it safely", Gary explained. "I assume you're on your way to Violet City, right?"

"Yeah", Ash and I nodded.

"Treet et."

"Pika pika."

"Hoohoo", Hoothoot waved one of its small wings to us.

"How about we go through the forest together?" Gary suggested as he looked at Trica. "With two Pokémon knowing Foresight, we should get out of here quicker."

"That sounds like a good idea", Brock nodded. "Ashley, how far away are we from the main road?"

"Let me check…", I replied as I opened my PokéGear and checked the map. Trica climbed onto my shoulders while I used my fingers to minimize the map and check the nearby roads. "The main road of Route 29 is quite far away from here, so I'm not sure if we can get there tonight…"

"Let me see", Gary said as he suddenly stood next to me. I flinched back a bit surprise. I never noticed him get so close to me. He stared at the double screen for a few seconds while rubbing his chin in the same way as Professor Oak would do. "According to my calculations, if we start walking now, we should reach the main road in just a few hours."

"Should we even walk right now?" Misty asked just as Togepi yawned loudly. "It's really late now…"

"I'd say we should get out of here first before resting", Brock suggested. "Who knows what those ghost Pokémon might do to us if we keep staying here."

"Brock's right", Ash nodded. "We should prioritize our safety first. I don't think those Pokémon wants to hurt us, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

"I see you have finally started growing a brain, Ash", Gary smirked teasingly at my twin brother.

"I've always had a brain, Gary!" Ash retorted with a growl and a glare.

"Piiika…", Pikachu sweat dropped at his Trainer's behavior.

"Stop it, you two", I told the boys. "You can fight another time, but now we should leave. I feel very uncomfortable being in this forest."

"Yeah, let's continue this conversation another day", Gary agreed for once as he walked ahead. "C'mon, guys, Hoothoot!"

"Wait for us, Gary!" Ash called before we ran after Professor Oak's grandson.

XXXXXXXXXX

The walk through the forest was unusually calm. I expected Gary trying to pick a fight with Ash, but he was silent and walked ahead with his own PokéGear in hand. Hoothoot bounced ahead of him. Ash, Misty, Brock and I walked behind the brunet as he navigated through the woods. Pikachu did his best to stay awake on Ash's shoulders while Togepi had fallen asleep in Misty's arms, so she had carefully put the baby Pokémon in her duffle bag. Trica sat on my shoulders and used her ears to pick up weird sounds.

"We're halfway to the road", Gary informed us. "We should get there in an hour."

"Good…", Ash said before he yawned loudly. "What time is it?"

"1:29 a.m.", Gary replied. "Try staying awake, guys."

"That's easier said than done…", Misty mumbled before she covered her mouth and yawned.

I was feeling tired myself, but my brain was too hyperactive. I kept looking around fearing that a ghost-type Pokémon would pop out of nowhere and scare us.

"Relax, Ashley", Brock said before he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Trica and Hoothoot will stop the illusions."

"But I'm scared of the ghost Pokémon…", I mumbled frightened.

"Sentret ret", Trica said before she climbed into my arms so I could hug her.

"Don't worry about them, Ashley!" Gary called over his shoulder. "My Pokémon will scare them away for you."

"Not if my Pokémon will scare them away first!" Ash smirked proudly.

"Puh-lease! Your senses won't react fast enough to send those ghost-type Pokémon away from your sister, Ash", Gary snorted loudly.

"Oh yeah? Wanna bet?" Ash asked with a confident smirk.

"Guys, chill out!" Misty stepped in between them. "Don't pick a fight now! I know you're both worried about Ashley, but think about the whole situation."

Trica suddenly grew rigid in my arms as her ears twitched. "Sentret sentret!" she yelped out panicked.

"What's wrong, Trica?" I asked.

"Pikaaa!"

The next thing we knew, Pikachu got snatched from Ash's shoulder by a Vine Whip that came from none other than James' Victreebel!

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in a panic.

The trio of Team Rocket laughed loudly as Victreebel dropped Pikachu into a box that Jessie held in her arms. "Thanks for dropping by!" she laughed.

"Now we finally have Pikachu in our hands!" James added to the laughter.

"All the hard work has finally paid off!" Meowth smiled widely.

"Yiaaah!" Victreebel shrieked.

"Team Rocket!" all five of us exclaimed in anger.

"One thing's for sure; you guys are not an illusion!" Gary stated.

"Of course we're not illusions, twerp!" Jessie retorted as she caressed her hair. "How can an illusion be as pretty as me?"

"Give back Pikachu right now!" Ash demanded.

"Sorry, but Pikachu's all packed up and we're about to leave this spooky forest", James retorted.

Ash growled before he cupped his mouth. "Pikachu! If you can hear me, use Thunderbolt!" he yelled.

I could barely hear Pikachu's yell, but I did hear how he released a Thunderbolt, but the box didn't sparkle at all.

"Meohahaha! The box is Pika-proof, so he cannot shock us!" Meowth explained.

"But we can shock you!" Gary yelled. "Hoothoot, use Confusion to grab the box!"

"Hooohoooot!" Hoothoot's eyes glowed in blue just as the psychic power enveloped the box in Jessie's hands. It levitated up from her grasp and floated over to us.

"Hey! Give it back, you thieves!" Jessie yelled.

"Victreebel, use Razor Leaf!" James commanded.

"Yiaaah!" Victreebel shrieked as it sent multiple sharp leaves from its wide mouth toward us.

"Hoothoot, throw the box to Ash and use Reflect!" Gary shouted. "Catch it, Ash!"

Hoothoot threw the box with its psychic powers toward us. Ash quickly ran forward and grabbed the box before it could crash to the ground. Gary's Pokémon used its psychic powers to create a transparent wall in front of us that the sharp leaves hit instead of us.

I ran to Gary to join the battle. "Trica, use Quick Attack on Victreebel!" I shouted.

"Treet!" Trica shrieked as she jumped out of my arms and landed on the ground. She dashed toward Victreebel and struck it straight in the middle of its body. The attack forced James' Pokémon back a little, but I could tell there was a huge strength difference between Trica and Victreebel, so I knew that Quick Attack did little damage.

"Pikachu!" Ash called in relief as he had opened the box and freed Pikachu. "Are you okay, buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu responded.

"That's it! You won't get away with this!" Jessie yelled as she threw a Poké Ball. "Go, Arbok!"

"Shaaaarbok!"

Ash walked up and stood between me and Gary. "Pikachu, let's join the battle!"

"Pika!" Pikachu barked as he stood between Trica and Hoothoot.

Speaking of Hoothoot, it suddenly turned its eyes up and looked frantically around. "Hoothoot, what's wrong?" Gary asked concernedly.

"Is it sensing something?" Brock asked.

Meowth looked to his right and gasped loudly. "Jessie, James! Look!" he pointed at the empty forest.

Jessie gasped like she had seen the most amazing thing in the world. "A Dragonite?!"

My head snapped up when I heard the name of that Pokémon. I looked around to see if there was one here, but all I saw was the forest and no signs of wild Pokémon. Perhaps Team Rocket was seeing an illusion?

"What's a Dragonite doing here in the forest?" James wondered.

"Umm… Don't tell me…", Misty mumbled quietly behind us.

"Who cares what it's doing here! We need to catch it and give it to the boss!" Meowth yelled determinedly.

"Yiaaah!"

"Shaaar!"

The rest of us watched unamused as Team Rocket and their Pokémon chased after something that was invisible in our eyes. That illusion coaxed the evil team to run after it deeper into the forest and they totally forgot about us.

"What just happened?" Ash asked.

"I think they saw an illusion", Brock answered.

"Don't lower your guards yet, guys!" Gary called out as a haze appeared out of nowhere.

I immediately got closer to Ash and held his arm as the haze surrounded us. Next thing we knew we saw multiple illusions of my brother!

"An army of Ash's?!" Misty shrieked.

"Pika? Pika…?" Pikachu looked around at the copies of his Trainer.

The fake Ash's spoke simultaneously and tried convincing Pikachu that they were the real ones. However, Pikachu knew who the real Ash was because I was holding his arm.

"Hoothoot, use Foresight to get rid of the illusions!" Gary shouted.

"Use Foresight too, Trica!" I yelled.

"HoooHOOOOT!"

"Sen…TREEET!"

The two Pokémon used Foresight in their personal way and got rid of the illusions. Hoothoot's big eyes glowed in red it released a red spotlight that engulfed the illusions before they disappeared. The shockwave that Trica sent spread across the little clearing we were in and actually revealed several Haunters and Gengars hiding up on the trees.

"GHOOOSTS!" I shrieked in fear and held onto Ash while burying my face against his chest.

"They must be the ones who made the illusions the whole time!" Misty shouted.

"It's payback time!" Ash yelled. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on them!"

"PikaCHUUUUU!"

I still had my face against my brother's chest, but I could hear the sound of the Thunderbolt and the ghost Pokémon screaming in pain after getting electrocuted. I was still shaking in fear with tears running down my cheeks that soaked Ash's shirt when he gently patted my back. "It's okay now, Ashley. They're gone…", he whispered in my ear.

I opened my eyes and wiped them clean before I turned around and saw the ghost-type Pokémon were gone. I sighed in relief and opened my arms so Trica could jump into them and I could cuddle with her.

"Thank goodness the mystery's been solved", Misty sighed in relief as she now held a fussy Togepi who had woken up in the middle of the chaos.

"Maybe that'll teach them a lesson to not trick people who are passing through this forest", Brock commented.

"Yeah, but let's pick up the pace in case they decide to come back", Gary suggested.

"Gladly!" I agreed full-heartedly. "I've had enough of this forest!"

XXXXXXXXXX

We made it to the main road of Route 29 less than an hour after our encounter with Team Rocket. Lucky for us, they never showed up, so they were probably still under the Haunters' and Gengars' illusion. We set up a camp next to the road and immediately fell asleep.

We woke up a little later than usual, but we were all feeling refreshed after a good sleep. Gary stayed with us for breakfast before it was time for us to split up.

"Thanks for all the help, Gary", Ash thanked our rival.

"No problem", Gary replied with a hand on his hip. "I should say the same because I might've gotten attacked by Team Rocket and lost a few Pokémon if you weren't there to help me."

"You two actually work great together when you're not fighting", Misty pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe", Ash said while he rubbed the back of his head.

"Only when we're in the same boat", Gary nodded.

"You mean…in the same situation?" I asked.

"Yep!" Gary smiled. "I see you've learned a lot during the journey, Ashley."

I blinked in surprise. "Was that…a compliment?" I asked.

Gary suddenly looked a little sheepish with pink cheeks that he scratched with his finger. "Y-Yeah, but don't expect lots of compliments from me, okay?" he said rapidly.

"Okay…?" I mumbled confusedly. I was getting more confused over Gary's change of behavior. Why did he act so…shy around me?

Gary's behavior returned to normal as his face switched into the lightbulb idea expression. "I almost forgot! How about we exchange PokéGear numbers?" he suggested.

"Sure, if you want to call and ask for a battle that I'll win", Ash smirked teasingly.

"In your dreams, pal!" Gary returned the smirk before his face softened. "But just because to make sure we're fine and we can keep the promise that we'll see each other at the Johto League."

"Okay…", I mumbled hesitantly. Gary was acting completely different now that he was traveling alone without his fangirls. What happened to them anyway? Did Gary tell them he wanted to travel alone and they were too much of a distraction to him? I wanted to ask him those questions, but perhaps it was best I didn't say a word.

After a quick exchange of numbers between our PokéGears, we split up with Gary to go on different paths that led to Violet City where the first Pokémon Gym was waiting for me and my brother.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley's party:

Firered the Charizard (male)

Cedric the Larvitar (male)

Trica the Sentret (female)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ash's party:

Ivysaur (male)

Pikachu (male)

Charizard (male)

Wartortle (male)

Heracross (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Misty's party:

Goldeen (female)

Staryu (genderless)

Psyduck (male)

Togepi (female)

Poliwag (male)

XXXXXXXXXX

Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Zubat (male)

Vulpix (female)